Fabio Viviani (chef)

Fabio Viviani (born October 10, 1978 in Florence, Italy) is a chef, restaurateur, and writer of cookery books who has appeared on reality television.^[1] He also sells a range of wines.^[2] In 2005 he moved from Florence to Southern California. In 2008 he appeared on the reality television competition series Top Chef, where he was voted the "fan favorite"; since then he has had a second career as a television host, on-air personality and product pitchman.

Early life

Fabio Viviani grew up in Florence, Italy. At age 11 he worked nights at a local bakery (since he was too young to officially join the staff) and held several positions in the restaurant industry during his teenage years. In 1992, 14-year-old Viviani began working at the Il Pallaio trattoria in Florence, which served Italian comfort food and had a 120-seat cover, becoming sous chef by age 16, mentored by Italian restaurateur Simone Mugnaini.^[3]

Career

Viviani owned and operated seven restaurants in Florence, a farm house and 2 nightclubs by the time he was 27.^[4] In late 2005 he moved to Ventura County, CA, US and opened Café Firenze in Moorpark and, soon after, LA Italian restaurant Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood.^[5][6] Teaming up with Chicago's Dine|Amic Group, Viviani opened a third restaurant called Siena Tavern in Chicago in February 2013.^[7] Siena Tavern was reviewed favorably by the Chicago Tribune, Thrillist, and others.^[8][9] He also opened Mercato by Fabio Viviani for corporate lunches at two locations in Chicago.

Viviani holds several endorsement and licensing contracts with Bertolli Olive Oil, Smart Step Home Kitchen Mats, Picnic Time Giftware, and Bialetti Cookware.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Viviani runs a website, www.fabioviviani.com, with original recipes, his Kitchen Academy blog, and upcoming events. In 2014 Viviani launched a free bi-weekly E-Magazine titled Fabio's Magazine, with recipes, wine blogs, lifestyle and health-related articles, and other content.^[14]

Television

Viviani's first appearance on television was as a contestant on the fifth season of reality TV show Top Chef on the Bravo network. He came in fourth place, and was voted "Top Chef Fan Favorite" by viewers.^[15] Viviani returned to the show in 2010 to compete on Top Chef: All Stars. In 2012, he was one of four Top Chef alumni whose lives were followed on the Bravo reality show Life After Top Chef, which lasted for one season. He was also the host of Chow Ciao, a web series on Yahoo!,^[16] for which he won a Webby Award for "Best Web Personality/Host" in 2012.^[17]

Viviani has appeared in a number of television cooking segments and been a guest on television shows including Good Morning America,^[18] The Talk,^[19] The Chew,^[20] Ellen,^[21] Good Day LA,^[22] Access Hollywood,^[23] The Queen Latifah Show^[24] and Bethenny,^[25] as well as hosting a regular spot on the channel QVC selling kitchen products. He was also a guest host on the Hallmark Channel series Home and Family,^[26]

Books

Viviani's first cookbook, Cafe Firenze Cookbook: Food and Drink Recipes from the Tuscan Sons was published in August 2009.^[27] It was followed by Fabio's Italian Kitchen in April 2013.^[28] This cookbook was on the New York Times Best Seller List in May 2013.^[29] Fabio's American Home Kitchen was published in October 2014.^[30]

Viviani has released several e-books, including Did I Really Make Breakfast (Vol I & II), The Skinny Country, We The Soup and I Would Love To Meat You.^[31]

Restaurants

• Cafe Firenze - Moorpark, California^[32]
• Firenze Osteria - Hollywood, California^[33]
• Siena Tavern - Chicago, Illinois^[34]
• Bar Siena- Chicago, Illinois^[35]

References

Footnotes